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Heidi Skok is an American operatic soprano, mezzo-soprano and contralto who has had an active career in concerts and in operas since the early 1990s. She has performed with many leading opera companies and orchestras in the United States and in other countries around the world.
Heidi Skok | |
|---|---|
| Born | Heidi Skok June 19, 1968 Richmond Heights, Ohio, US |
| Education | Riverside High School, Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1991– |
Early life and education
editHeidi Skok was born on June 19, 1968, in Richmond Heights in Ohio, US. Her father was a probate judge and her mother is a retired coourt reported. At Riverside High School, Skok acted in musicals and won a Lake County Rotary award for best lead actress in a musical. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh .[1]
Career
editSkok has had a diverse vocal career which began professionally in 1990 with the Pittsburgh Opera under the management and guardianship Tito Capobianco. She sang secondary soprano parts at the Metropolitan Opera from 1991 to 2003. Skok sang mostly under the baton of the Maestro James Levine in German, Czech, English, and Russian operas.[2][3][4]
She was a member of the Metropolitan Opera's Young Artist Development program from 1991 to 1994 and from 1998 to 2003, was on the MET's roster as a Soprano. Skok sang regionally as well, including major roles as Pamina, Donna Elvira, the Countess, Gretel, Fiordiligi, and Michaela with Pittsburgh Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Wolf Trap opera to name a few. She has sang many recitals including at the Ravinia Festival and the Marlboro Festival.
In 2003 the Metropolitan Opera retired her soprano voice. Due to her positive regional status, she was happy to return to the concert stage until the end of that year and beyond. During her soprano career, Heidi appeared in many concert halls around the world, including the Carnegie Hall in New York City, Jordan Hall in Boston and The 92nd Street Y in New York City. She sang as a soprano on four different continents overall. She sung concerts in Argentina, Austria, Israel, Italy, and Uruguay.[5]
In 2006, while singing with the Albany Symphony conducted by Maestro David Janower, Skok and Maestro Janower found the soprano repertoire of course less navigable and Skok embarked on a new and obvious journey as a Mezzo-soprano. She sang concerts successfully at Carnegie Hall as a Mezzo and many other concerts. Through further vocal development however, the Mezzo-soprano still felt the repertoire to be a bit high and in 2021, Heidi embraced the Contralto repertoire with ease. Heidi Skok has served on many voice faculties at prestigious conservatories and universities since 1995 including The New School University, Bennington College, The University of Kentucky, The New England Conservatory, Oberlin College Conservatory, The College of Saint Rose and Lakeland Community College. She won so many awards including The Center for Contemporary Opera, The MET National Council auditions (regional), Opera Index and The Center for Contemporary Opera and a Sullivan Award from Opera America.[6][5]
Skok returned to professional opera in February 2023, when she sang as a contralto in St. Augustine, Florida.[4]
Singing teacher
editSkok decided to share her talent with others by starting a company Skok Studio LLC in 1995. There she was able to offer her vocal programmes to everyone who was interested in, she was doing that both on line and in person. At the same time she had diverse roles transitioning from a celebrated soprano to a professional contralto in 2021. She founded Resonanz Opera in 2009.[7] She is the founder of Resonanz Opera which began in 2009 in Albany, New York[8] and transferred to Mentor, Ohio in 2017 where it had two successful seasons helping opera singers from around the country in a summer operatic season.[6][1]
Skok is the owner and master Vocal Instructor at Skokstudio Vocal Instruction LLC, an online vocal instruction business that helps singers across the country improve their singing skills.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b "Mezzo-soprano Heidi Skok brings home Resonanz Opera to Willoughby's Fine Arts Association". cleveland.com. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
- ^ "Haidi Skok". charlestoncompetition.com. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
- ^ "Heidi Skok". csmusic.net. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
- ^ a b "Skokstudio Vocal Instruction in Mentor enjoying success with in-person, online instruction". news-herald.com. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
- ^ a b "Heidi Skok". skokstudio.org. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
- ^ a b "Finding a New Voice: Heidi Skok on Her Path from Lyric Soprano to Contralto". csmusic.net. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
- ^ "Resonanz opera". resonanzopera.org/. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
- ^ "New music series Resonanz arrives in Albany". timesunion.com. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
- ^ "About Skok studio". skokstudio.org. Retrieved June 22, 2024.